wdkits1 Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Hi Everyone OK, that might seem like a strange title for a work in progress but I think after you see this project you"ll understand the reason. I've been doing Intarsia for a long time and pride myself in putting lots of detail into my pieces by using only natural colored wood, detail carving and using lots of itty bitty pieces to add as much realism as I can to my work. Last week I was asked to make some custom Beer Tap Handles for a guy here in town that has his own home brewery. He sent me a photo of the logo that he has and asked if I could carve or etch the logo onto the handle somehow. Picture of logo Don't do much carving or etching I said but I do Intarsia which is a unique type of woodworking that might be something you'd like to see. Invited him to the shop to see some of my work. We discussed pricing, woods, sizes and I was given the go-ahead to get em done as an intarsia. Talk about a challenge!!! Like I said, I like working with small pieces but I gotta tell you , I might have bitten off more than I can chew with this project. Just to give an idea of the size of these things, the total width of the logo is 4 1/4" so keeping the scale correct means that the inlay has to be contained in a 3 " circle. So the letters are less than 1/4" tall. I've cut some pretty small pieces before but to cut and fit letters this small and inlay them into a background--well that's just getting down to the nitty gritty part of this type of work. That little black spec is the letter "E" So after a little trial and error (lots of each) and learning a few new cutting and sanding techniques here is the first of 4 Rabid Otter logo's. Still have to turn the handle and glue everything in but I do like a challenge. Mike "why buy it if you can build it" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Wow! That's amazing work and all, but I think what everyone is really going to want to know is, -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimV Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Wow! Great job! That is awesome that you took the challenge and stepped up! I hope he gives you a lifetime supply of free beer as part of the payment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 haha - great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBaker Posted September 7, 2012 Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 Outstanding job. Pat yourself on the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawrence Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 holy tiny exacting work batman.... that's awesome and extremely "tight" looking Well done Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 Very nice! My fingers feel fumbley just thinking about trying to fit all of that together. How did you go about cutting all of the small peices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdkits1 Posted September 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 Thanks for the comments guys I worked on the handle this weekend and it met with the owners approval so will now continue on the next three tap handles. I wont glue anything together until all 4 handles are complete to insure that everything is the same for a matched set. Plus now i get to build the pedestal that the taps are attached to. This just gets better and better. To mds2-- all the cuts were made with the scrollsaw using a 2/0 reverse tooth blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howtoworkwood Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Wow, that is incredible work. I am very intrigued as to how on earth you hold the pieces whilst working on the scroll saw? Tweezers? That must be bloody hard. You must have the patience of a saint! What kinds of woods did you use? Did you stain any of them or was it all natural? How long did they take to make? Very inspiring stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Great work.. way more detail oriented that I could ever do. I like big pieces to work with. Cant wait to see everything together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyNoName Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 I like your's better than the original logo. Good Job! Jonathan ============================================= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
areynoldsre Posted September 14, 2012 Report Share Posted September 14, 2012 That is a great project. I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdkits1 Posted September 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 Thanks guys To Howtoworkwood--I have found that working with small pieces such as these is best done just using my finger tips. I do wear a pair of 2 power jewelers lenses to see everything up close and I hold the small pieces using my fingernails. I print my patterns on self adhesive label paper and adhere the sections to the wood. No stains were used. About 5 hours each Woods used--Frame-antique mahogany Background- lacewood letters,nose, eye pupils -ebony body-Peruvian walnut chest ,lower jaw and bottle label- cherry foam and eyes-holly lips-bloodwood bottle- lignum vitae wheat-yellowheart 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howtoworkwood Posted September 22, 2012 Report Share Posted September 22, 2012 Wow, thanks for the reply... next question... Where do you buy/get your timber from? If you're only using such small pieces it must take years to get through even one board...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howtoworkwood Posted September 22, 2012 Report Share Posted September 22, 2012 P.S. Just holding that stuff with your finger tips is nuts! Ha. I wouldn't have any fingers left if I tried that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironman50 Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 You pulled off such a marvelous job! You should be proud of yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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